Randomised trial, 2020
Does zinc supplementation help PMS symptoms?
Yes. Women taking 30mg of zinc daily for 12 weeks showed significant improvement in both physical and psychological PMS symptoms compared to placebo.
What they did
Researchers randomly assigned 60 women aged 18 to 30 with PMS to receive either 30mg zinc gluconate or placebo daily for 12 weeks. They measured physical and psychological symptoms, antioxidant levels, inflammation markers, and brain growth factors at baseline and after 12 weeks.
What they found
After 12 weeks, physical symptoms improved in the zinc group (P=0.03), psychological symptoms improved (P=0.006), brain-derived neurotrophic factor increased (P=0.01), and total antioxidant capacity increased (P less than 0.001). The inflammation marker showed no significant change.
What it means for you
Zinc may help reduce both physical and psychological PMS symptoms and may increase antioxidant levels and a brain growth factor. The study was small (60 women) and lasted only 12 weeks, so longer-term effects are unknown. It is unclear if benefits persist after stopping zinc.
30mg
daily zinc gluconate dose
12 weeks
treatment duration
60
women studied
About the study
- Original title
- Effect of Zinc Supplementation on Physical and Psychological Symptoms, Biomarkers of Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Young Women with Premenstrual Syndrome: a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Jafari F, Amani R, Tarrahi MJ
- Journal
- Biological trace element research
- Year
- 2020
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 30
- What was tested
- 30mg zinc gluconate daily for 12 weeks
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01757-9
Topics
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